Hidden Secrets: Continued Version
by Night Audinwood
Summary: She sat down on the couch, staring at the bloodstained coffee table, wondering how much more blood would be forever stained on it after he came back. There was always more blood.
1. Chapter 1

..Hidden Secrets..

Part One:

Death of an angel.

By DeclawedVampiricKitty.

"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."- Zuzu, in "It's a wonderful life."

The light rain continued to fall on the roof of a small cabin in the woods. The trees only blocked some of the rain from falling onto the wooden roof, and possibly into the ground level cabin. The clouds hung low in the sky, giving off the illusion of fog in the late October night as a young girl of maybe eighteen stared out the broken window. She looked left and right and stared off into the fog-like clouds before she looked down at her shaking hands and silently decided that it was no use.

She sighed before she pushed herself away from the windowsill, ignoring the shattered glass as it crunched beneath her feet. He had been gone for days now. Days without any word as to how he was doing. She hated when he did this. When he disappeared for what felt like forever, no note saying where he went or when he'd be back. Nothing. She sat down on the couch, staring at the blood-stained coffee table, wondering how much more blood would be forever stained on it after he came back. There was always more blood. Always more gashes to mend- more wounds to tend to. He never came back safe. Safe wasn't his specialty. She sat listening to the soft sound of the rain pattering on the wooden roof, the sound dulling her senses as she gazed up at the broken window into the fog-like landscape shimmering just outside the wooden walls.

She jumped at the sound of the door opening and soft, slow footsteps entering the living room. She got off the couch, rushing to help him to his feet before he collapsed. She caught him just in time and helped him to the coffee table where he laid down and gasped in pain as she left to go find the first aid kit. He looked hideous. His black hair was covered in blood. Blood that wasn't his. Blood was smeared on his face from an open wound on his cheek and she noticed his lip was swollen and bleeding. The rain had washed away most of the sticky mess, and she knew it had probably taken him longer to find the small cabin due to the clouds hanging so low in the sky. Either way, she knew that he needed her help, just like he always did.

"You won't tell me where you've been going, will you?" she asked, pulling out a needle and thread as she looked him over for any more wounds.

He muttered something she couldn't quite make out, but it sounded to her like a no. She knew he would never tell her where he was sneaking off to. He'd take the secret with him to his grave. He kept a lot of things from her, things she would never tell him that she knew. She only wished he would tell her before he ended up getting himself killed.

"Starfire, I'm not going to get myself killed." he said, as if reading her mind.

She sighed and continued sewing up his cheek. He continued to stare at her as she worked, his midnight blue eyes unblinking as he waited for a response. The rain was the only sound that reached their ears as they sat there in deafening silence. At long last, she spoke.

"You keep coming back looking like this, and you expect me not to think that?" Starfire asked as she finished mending his cheek.

"It's not that bad." At her glare he smiled. "Well, not as bad as it looks."

"Robin, You have a gash two inches long going down your cheek, you have a bleeding lip, and from the looks of it you have another gash down your forearm. Your telling me its not as bad as it looks." she said, looking at him as if he had gone insane.

She pulled up his shirtsleeve and sure enough, another long, deep gash stared back up at her. Star pulled a strand of red hair behind her ear and looked back at Robin, not at all amused by the situation at hand. Robin, however, was sheepishly grinning at her, as if smiling would lighten her mood and take away the thick tension hanging in the air.

"Care to explain this lovely number?" she asked, anger evident in her usually calm voice.

"Hey, that's just a scratch..." he started.

"Robin, just a scratch! This is a three inch long cut- no gash- that looks like it's from some sort of weapon, and your saying its a scratch? A scratch from what, a small leopard!"

"Not a small leopard. A very large, very mad, mother leopard."

"You got this from a leopard?" she asked, not buying his story.

"Yes, they're very vicious animals..." he paused, knowing full well she didn't buy anything he was saying and that it was going in one ear and out the other. "OK, it's from a sword." he said, defeated.

"And why were you fighting someone with a sword?"

Starfire started stitching his arm as he tried to come up with a reasonable answer. The rain was still tapping on the roof and the clouds weren't moving from their comfortable spot resting on the lush green grass of the wood. When she realized that he wasn't going to answer she sighed, shaking her head.

"Nevermind, forget I asked." she said, going back to her work.

"Come on, Starfire. Don't be like that, you know I don't…"

"Robin, just don't talk. I'm not interested in hearing it."

"But Star, I-"

"Done." she said, throwing the needle and thread away.

She got up and started to walk away, leaving Robin sitting at the table. He stood, walking after her as she made her way into the kitchen area of the cabin.

"Star if you would just hear me out!"

"Robin, I'm done listening to you lie to me. You disappear for days, come back bruised and bloody and you expect me not to ask questions. You expect me to bandage you up and let you go for another week or two." she shook her head, not turning to face him. "If you want to talk, you know where to find me. Unless you forgot where that is."

With that, she grabbed her keys and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Robin stood staring at the closed door as her car started and drove out of the driveway down the street. He shook his head and sighed, walking back into the living room and sitting down on the couch. He stared at the blood stained coffee table, his mind wandering to the bloody battlefields he had been on for the last few months. He could never tell Starfire where he was going, she'd never understand. He had already promised himself that she could never know about his deal with the devil, or the true stories of the battlefields. He looked up from the coffee table and looked out the window, just as Starfire had done before, and looked at the fog-like clouds as he listened to the soft rain tapping against the rooftop.

Starfire drove fast down the road, not seeing the road or even hearing the cars honking at her as she went. She was sick of his lies, and sick of him disappearing. Star barely had time to gasp when the bright lights of the eighteen wheeler shone through the thick haze. She tried to swerve out of the way, but it was too late. Her car hit the truck and went skidding across the road. The car screeched to a stop in the ditch on the side of the road. She tried fighting against the black dots blocking her vision, but it was no use. She never heard the truck driver tell her to hold on. The rain pattered against the roof of the car and the fog-like clouds continued to lay content on the grassy wood floor as they waited to carry another lost angel up to heaven, even though the angel joining them was still harboring hidden secrets.

A/N: Tweaked a few more things because I am a perfectionist and I like to have everything perfect (or close to it). The newspaper came out and I was very happy to see my story in it in all its glory. It took up a page front and back. I cant wait to see what my teacher thinks about the second part, which is a whole whopping 5 pages long on Microsoft. This is 3 pages. Hehehehe.

Happy Reading!!

DeclawedVampiricKitty


	2. Chapter 2

..Hidden Secrets..

Part Two:

Confessions of a Mistake.

By DeclawedVampiricKitty

_"Empty reasons for my past, _

_Excuses do not hold,_

_I'm struck with my affliction,_

_An inner perfect storm,_

_Why didn't someone warn me,_

_To save me from myself,_

_The pain is self-inflicted,_

_The decisions were my own,_

_Now listen to history.."_

_- Kutless, "Mistakes"_

I live in a world where villains run rampant, and evil lies around every corner. It was around one of those corners where the devil himself made me an offer I couldn't refuse. The deal was simple; I join him on his quest to rid the world of all good, or let Starfire suffer a painful death by my own hands. Any sane person in my position would have chosen the former, rather than the latter. That was the day I signed my soul over to the devil and lost the trust of the only person that mattered.

But, let's go back to the beginning, the afternoon before this heinous negotiation. A short time before the fighting between Starfire and I began. Those were the highlights of my life, I only wish I had realized that sooner.

_Star laughed as she watched the tug-of-war continue, still no winner in sight. Robin and the husky pup had been playing the same game for hours, and Star had been dubbed scorekeeper. So far it was Puppy- 8, Robin-0. With one sharp pull, the score changed once again. Starfire quickly wrote the score down as Robin got to his feet once again._

"_And the final score, Barack-9, Robin-0." She said, holding up the makeshift scoreboard._

_Robin scoffed and glared as Barack brought him the rope again, dropping it at his feet and thumping his tail on the ground._

"_I could have won if I wanted to." Robin said, crossing his arms as he glared at the small puppy._

"_You said that seven games ago Robin; just face it, Barack's better than you."_

_Robin stuck his tongue out at her and uncrossed his arms, picking up the rope once again. "One more game, then we can go." He said, glancing over at her._

_She rolled her eyes and sat back, looking up at the sky. The sun was setting, splashing bright colors across the clouds, coloring them pink, orange, purple and blue. While she was busy watching the sky, Barack once again beat Robin at the simple game, barking happily as Robin chased him through the empty park._

_When the leash hit her lap, Star looked up and saw that Barack was sitting across from her, nudging her leg while Robin looked down at the scoreboard in his hands. She picked up Barack's leash and stood, smiling up at Robin._

"_You have to change the score you know, its Barack-10, me-0."_

_She laughed and took the notebook from him. "He beat you again?"_

"_Yeah, he did."_

"_Oh, don't start sulking Robin. He's just a puppy." Star said, glancing down at Barack._

"_I'm not sulking." He said, crossing his arms again._

"_Sure you're not," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes._

_Robin just shook his head and they walked in silence until they had to take their separate paths home._

"_So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Star asked, taking the leash in her other hand._

"_Yeah, I'll be there around noon and we can go, OK?"_

"_OK, should we bring Barack along or should I get a dog-sitter for the day?"_

_Robin smiled and shook his head. "Nah, go ahead and bring him. We can play again tomorrow."_

"_Sure you want to get beat again?" she asked, smiling._

"_This time, Barack's going to be the one losing." He said, smiling back at her._

"_All right, I'll see you tomorrow then.."_

_Robin hugged Star goodbye and watched her leave before starting his own walk home. A few minutes later, he turned and looked up only to find himself in a dark alley._

_He was a fighter. He could have easily protected her from anything. He didn't know why those 5 simple words threw him to the brink of insanity. How those words terrified him so much that he literally signed his soul over to the devil._

"_Join me, or Starfire dies."_

_Those harsh words sent shivers up and down Robin's spine despite the humid summer evening. He stood in the dimly lit alley, in front of the devil himself, as the words struck him like a fatal blow. Realizing that Robin wasn't going to respond, he decided to reiterate._

"_Help me rid the world of all good, or Star dies… By your hands."_

_It was then that he looked into his face, taking in each dark shadow, every brooding aspect of his face. He stared into his black eyes and knew he wasn't joking about Star. It was then he made the toughest decision of his life._

"_If I do join you, what will happen to Starfire?"_

_The devil smirked before responding. "She will remain unharmed."_

_Robin looked down at the grimy floor for a brief second before looking up once again to face his ultimate demise._

"_Where do I sign?"_

From that moment on, my life was turned inside out and upside down. Starfire didn't understand why I kept canceling on her or why I was constantly away and never around when she needed me. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about my deal, let alone the battles. I suppose you would like to hear about them too, and all the gruesome details of the fights that I had gone along with in His crusade.

The same battles that gave Star the fear and worry that I would die.

_The midnight blue sky sparkled with stars and scarce clouds in the summer evening as Robin walked through the forest. The sword at his side was dripping with fresh blood, the oozing red muck staining the fresh grass as he went. The night was anything but quiet, sounds of people screaming, metal hitting metal and the occasional laugh of pure satisfaction when someone brought down an enemy. It was one of the many times he knew he was lucky to be alive. _

_Robin winced in pain and looked down at his arm. A deep gash stared up at him. It ran from his shoulder to just above his elbow, and even he knew that he needed to have it stitched up. His arm wasn't the only injured part of his body. His leg was bleeding from some unseen offender and he knew that he had one right above his left eye. The warm blood was dripping down the side of his face and falling onto his shirt as he wandered through the corpses fallen at his feet. Robin had learned quickly to get used to the sight of them. Sure, the first time he had killed someone and laid eyes on the body, he had passed out, just like anyone else would have. Now, he didn't give them a second thought._

_At long last the screams died down, spiraling the night into long awaited silence. The air was no longer filled with the maniacal laughter and the dull sound of the bodies making contact with the cruel ground. The only sound was that of Robin's feet crunching leaves as he made his way slowly to the cabin he and Star went to on weekends. He had no idea where the devil had disappeared to, but he was nowhere to be found as Robin left the forest._

_The silence was comforting as he walked down the path to the cabin, grateful for the few moments of peace before he would meet Star in all her fury. He wasn't sure whether she would be furious of concerned, but he knew it would be one of the two._

_When Robin stumbled into the front door of the cabin, Star jumped up from the couch, ready to give him a piece of her mind until she saw him. The anger in her bright green eyes quickly dissolved and was replaced by concern and fear. She ran to the front door as Robin shut it behind him, and leaned on it for support._

"_Robin, what happened? Where have you been? Are you ok?" Star asked as she helped him away from the door and to the living room._

_Robin sat himself down on the coffee table as Starfire ran to the bathroom, saying something about needles and taking care of his arm and forehead. She quickly came back to the living room and sat down on the couch across from him._

"_You never answered my questions Robin, what happened to you?"_

"_Its nothing, really. Don't worry about it." He said, not looking her in the eye._

_She had to refrain from putting down the needle in her hand as she looked quickly to him before starting to sew his arm. "I have to worry, it's my job." She said simply._

"_You shouldn't have to worry." Robin said, looking down at his arm as she sewed it up. "I guess I'm lucky that you're a nurse assistant, huh?"_

_She just nodded and finished his arm, tying off the string before she began with his forehead. "Are you going to tell me where you've been? Or am I going to be left out in the dark?" she asked._

_He said nothing, and she took his silence for what it was. He wasn't going to tell her. She sighed and once again tied off the string before she sat back, looking him over for more wounds that she may not have seen._

"_Is that all, or is there more that I should be worried about?" she asked, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, her anger once again rising._

"_I think that my legs cut too, I can't be sure." He said, once again not meeting her gaze._

_She had every intention of flinging the sewing kit at him and telling him to do it himself, but she thought better of it and silently looked at his leg. Sure enough, there was another gruesome gash facing her. She pulled his leg up on the couch next to her so she had better access to fix it._

_Robin was silent while she mended his leg, the guilt settling in as he continued to ignore her questions._

"_Why aren't you talking to me?" she asked, hurt evident in her voice._

"_I am talking to you." He said, trying to push back the guilt still nudging him._

"_No, you're not. You're ignoring me, I can tell. You keep saying things that you think I want to hear, and it's not what I want to hear, Robin. You're not answering me. What happened to you? That's all I want to know, what happened?" she asked, looking up and staring at him, waiting for an answer._

"_I can't tell you, Star." He said, finally meeting her gaze._

"_Why can't you tell me? What's going on?"_

"_I just can't tell you what's going on, I can't."_

_She stared at him for a second before going back to her work on his leg. She tied off the string and stood up, walking away without another word to him._

_Robin watched her leave and looked down at his mended arm. He shook his head before looking up and facing the empty cabin. _

"_What have I gotten myself into?" he asked, his voice echoing against the walls._

You would say that my first mistake was signing my soul over to the devil. That wasn't it. My first mistake was lying to Starfire and nearly getting myself killed because of it. My second was agreeing to his ludicrous plan and losing myself forever in his clutches. I was trying to protect her, to keep her safe, only to lose her in the end. I guess I couldn't protect her from the ultimate enemy, myself.

A/N: Here's the second part- sorry it didn't quite hit the October 3rd update like I said. Life got a tad bit crazy in my neck of the woods. Yeah, sorry about sounding like a hick. It happens when you live where I do. Anyway, sorry about the lateness and enjoy. As soon as Irishelf and I find Running Scared it will be updated. Right now it's in a binder in one of our houses. Heh, oops.

Happy Reading!

Declawed Vampiric Kitty


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